Breadcrumb

Manifesto for a Post-Growth Economy

Gus Speth

Distinguished fellow and co-chair of the Next System Project Gus Speth creates a manifesto on post-growth prosperity in this excerpt adapted from his book America the Possible: Manifesto for a New Economy and published on CommonDreams. Speth discusses growth, the current system’s downfalls, and possible alternative policies that would slow GDP growth in order to help the environment while also improving overall society. He focuses on the need for work-time reduction while maintaining a certain level of growth in necessary areas of the economy.

It is time for America to move to a post-growth society, where working life, the natural environment, our communities and families, and the public sector are no longer sacrificed for the sake of mere GDP growth; where the illusory promises of ever-more growth no longer provide an excuse for neglecting our country’s compelling social needs; and where true citizen democracy is no longer held hostage to the growth imperative.

Table of Contents

Gus Speth

More related work

The solidarity economy is a global movement to build a just and sustainable economy. It is not a blueprint theorized by academics in ivory towers. Rather, it is an ecosystem of practices that already exist—some old, some new, some still emergent—that are aligned with solidarity economy values. There is already a huge foundation upon which to build.
read more